Whose Idea?
by HumanTales
Summary: The Chamber of Secrets was Salazar's idea.


**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Beta:** Beta'ed by the always kind Rakina.

**Whose Idea?**

Salazar knelt before the altar in his quarters, preparing himself for the task he had set himself. Hogwarts was strong, but it couldn't survive the hatred of those with no magic.

He understood, although he didn't agree, that this was why the others wanted the children from non-magic families, the flowers among the weeds, to attend Hogwarts. And, in a perfect world, he would agree. The problem wasn't the children themselves; the problem was their families, their neighbours, their priests. Eventually, those with no magic would realise that the child within their midst had access to powers of which they could only dream. Then they would try to beat out the magic, exorcise it, and when none of that would work, burn it out.

All of that was bad enough, but Salazar knew that, one day, they would follow the child to the place where they had learned to use that power, and then Hogwarts would burn. The building could be rebuilt—it hadn't been easy, but it could be built again. But the people—the children, the innocents—couldn't. Once killed, they were gone, and that offended Salazar's sense of how the world should work. And so, his current project: he would create a hiding place, a last retreat. Destroy Hogwarts and, in that destruction, hide the people.

He went to the public garderobe nearest his rooms and, on the wall farthest from the privies, cast the spell on the rock that would indicate where the opening would be. The walls in this part of the castle were quite thick, more than thick enough to cut a passageway between the rooms. He went straight down, through the building and through the floor. When he was through the walls of Hogwarts, he cast the strongest warding spells he could on the opening. He didn't want to leave an unguarded entrance to the castle while creating his hideaway.

From there, it was a matter of clearing the earth. It was tedious, time-consuming work. Before he could move into a section, he had to make sure it was braced so it wouldn't collapse around him. As he expanded his tunnel, he encased it in stone, so it would last as long as the castle above and behind him. It took months, but it was worth every moment of work. All he had to do to remember why he was doing this was to visit the graveyard behind the school, where those students who had been burned were buried. Sometimes, Godric would be there as well. Although they fought constantly within the castle, as they determined whom they would invite and how they would notify their choices, they had an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't quarrel at the graves.

Finally, nearly a year later, his tunnel had reached the length he wanted. Now, he could form the actual hiding place. At the entrance, he created a stone wall, on which he carved two entwined serpents. Salazar had always been rather proud of his carvings, and this would be his masterpiece. When he was finished carving, he affixed two great emeralds as their eyes. Then, he cast the spell that would turn wall into doorway.

The chamber he created as their sanctuary was huge. To brace the ceiling, he created giant stone columns; purely for his pleasure, he carved them into serpents. When he was finally finished, he looked around, satisfied. It truly was his greatest accomplishment to date.

Now that his chamber was complete, it needed a guardian. He had originally planned on creating one himself, but a singular opportunity came his way: a cock's egg was found. After some hearty negotiation, Salazar was able to buy it. Enchanting a toad to hatch it, he became the owner of a basilisk.

Salazar knew that most people would be terrified of being near a basilisk; however, he could talk with it and, most importantly, tell it what not to do. He worked with it, teaching it that its rightful prey was not humans, but dumb beasts. It was only to attack humans if it was ordered to do so by one with the gift of Parseltongue. Of course, he wouldn't be around forever, but three of his children also had the gift; he felt certain that it would persist for many generations.

The basilisk's growth surprised him. Its size wasn't terribly important; with its poison and its petrifying gaze it didn't need brute strength. And yet, it grew quickly. Within the first year, it was nearly as long as he himself was tall. Salazar made certain to keep it fed with those creatures it liked best. Fortunately, it was satisfied with a steady diet of small forest creatures.

Finally, it was time to announce his great creation to the others. He knew they thought he was angry with them for the disagreements and arguments, but Salazar understood that they brought vastly different visions to their school. It was only when they worked in concert that the school would truly be what they all hoped it would become.

Bone-weary, he returned to his quarters to bathe and rest. Tomorrow, he would tell the others about his chamber of sanctuary. When he got to his quarters, his youngest son, Iago, was waiting for him. As he had become more involved with his project, Salazar had given Iago more responsibilities around the school. He was now in charge of the children Salazar chose for his House, and he taught those children who wished instruction in the protective and martial magics. He greeted Salazar with a respectful smile. "Father, you've returned rather early for you. What have you been working on to get quite so filthy?"

He had kept his project secret for so long, and Iago was the child of his body most like him. It proved irresistible to show the boy his sanctuary. And, since Iago was a Parselmouth like himself, it would be sensible to introduce him to the guardian. "If you truly wish to know, follow me." He turned to go back to the chamber.

Salazar had become so used to the trip that he no longer noticed how long it took. Leading Iago, however, made him aware of every last step. If his chamber were ever needed, it would be quite a long run to get there. Then again, the entrance from the school would be guarded, and it would be sensible to start the journey before the castle fell.

When he arrived at the entrance, he turned to his son. "You must close your eyes until I introduce you to the guardian. You should have no trouble with it, but you must be introduced first." Once Iago's eyes were closed, he took his arm and hissed to the snakes to open. Iago's face showed his surprise, but he said nothing.

Salazar carefully led him to the centre of the room. Looking around, he found the basilisk sprawled out at the rear wall. "Come here," he hissed to it in Parseltongue, "and meet another whom you must obey."

The basilisk approached the two men and tasted Iago, its method of identifying the human. Finally, Salazar told his son, "You may look around now."

"Thank you, Father," Iago said, sounding grateful. He stared around him. "What is this, Father? It is magnificent."

Feeling his chest swell in pride, Salazar explained what he had created, and why, while Iago examined every inch of the chamber. When his explanation was finished, he waited for Iago's reaction. Of all of his children, Iago was the one with the most penetrating intellect.

"Father," Iago began uncertainly, "I thought you despised the children from Muggle families."

"No," Salazar answered, shaking his head. "I don't even hate the non-magic folk themselves; I just don't want anything to do with them. Allowing their children here without proper precautions is asking for trouble."

Iago said nothing for several minutes as he looked around the chamber. He walked up to the basilisk, carefully shielding his eyes. Finally, he turned to his father. "I'm sorry. I thought I understood you, but I don't. You aren't the man Hogwarts needs." He turned to the basilisk and hissed, "Attack him!"

At first, Salazar didn't realize what Iago had done. As he realized, to his horror, what was happening, he found his vision filled with two great, yellow eyes. He felt his body seize up and then, he was gone.

Iago sighed. "You may have him," he told the basilisk. Shaking his head, he examined the chamber again. "Such a waste," he said. "This masterpiece of yours deserves a much grander use." Going to the blank wall at the rear of the chamber, he took his time carving a statue of his father. He thought when he had finished it that it was as large as a child's vision of his father always is.

Iago returned to the school alone. The next morning, he pulled Godric aside. "My father has been muttering about a Chamber of Secrets beneath the school, and of a horror that would purge the school of all non-magical influences. Am I misreading his speech, or does he truly think those of Muggle parentage are untrustworthy?"

Godric shook his head. "I didn't think he'd carried his thinking that far. When next I see him, I'll speak with him about it."

But Salazar never returned to the school. Eventually, Iago's version of the story was the one that everyone believed: that Salazar had left the school because he was so angry with the others about the Muggleborn children. That he had built a chamber, a Chamber of Secrets, beneath the school that only his true heir could open. That it housed a horror that, once unleashed, would purge the school of those unworthy of studying magic.

And Iago chose only those with the purest of magical blood, or those who could be truly useful to the purebloods, for his House within the school.

fin


End file.
